Her Face In The Mirror: Jewish Women on Mothers and Daughters

by Faye Moskowitz

Overview

A beautiful exploration of the difficult and affirming relationship between mothers and their daughters in the lives of Jewish women.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807036150
Publisher:	Beacon Press
Publication date:	09/30/1995
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

Editorial Reviews

A rich collection —Publishers Weekly

"Amazing. . . Her Face in the Mirror talks to us with the combined voices of many wise daughters and mothers who are trying to make sense of the mystery of their exquisite bond." —Belles Lettres

"This collection was a gift to me, and will be for others, in understanding ourselves and those we love." —Dr. Elaine Reuben, president of the Jewish Study Center in Moment

"Fearlessly, Faye Moskowitz has drawn together fifty-six Jewish mothers and daughters in an eloquent mosaic of memoirs by eminent contemporary American authors. Just whom each contributor sees in the mirror is pictured with a painful honesty." —The Columbus Dispatch

'You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate Faye Moskowitz's work. All you need is a mind, a heart, a mother, and a need for warmth and tradition.' —Susan Stamberg, National Public Radio

From the Publisher

Amazing...Her Face in the Mirror talks to us with the combined voices of many wise daughters and mothers who are trying to make sense of the mystery of their exquisite bond.

Belle Lettres

In this rich collection of short stories, poems, essays and novel excerpts, Moskowitz (A Leak in the Heart) presents varied voices of Jewish mothers and daughters. The 56 contributors-among them Grace Paley, Tillie Olsen, Judith Viorst and Letty Cottin Pogrebin-offer a canvas filled with strong emotions, which are often painful but generally affirming. We read of mothers and daughters dealing with Jewish identity, with generational strains, with a love-hate bond. Most poignant are the daughters, tributes to their dead mothers and their yearnings for a relationship lost, as expressed in Judith Steinbergh's poem ``No Answer'': ``I'm not into the afterlife/ and your burial pursues me/ without mercy,/ MA/ answer me.'' (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Former National Public Radio commentator Moskowitz has gathered an astonishing collection of poems, stories, and essays that explore widely diverse issues like intergenerational conflict, religious orthodoxy, love, death, and the Holocaust. This is a penetrating look at the mother-daughter bond from the perspective of Jewish women. A persistent theme is the marginal status of the Jew in America as a metaphor for the status of women in Judaism. A wide range of writers from Grace Paley and Tillie Olsen to Sandra Bernhard and Irena Klepfisz raise their voices in these haunting and remarkable pages. Highly recommended.

Library Journal